Overpriced devices

[GurbzTheGreat]

How is Telus allowed to get away with having unrealistic 'buy without a plan prices'? You can a galaxy s8 off amazon.ca for ~$600/650 but they have it listen as 950. Talk about a massive rip off.

Absolutely brutal Telus.

[Syaoran]

Because that heavily inflated price makes it seem like their 2 year contract is somewhat of a bargain.  Telus wouldn't make a quarter of the profit off of selling you the device at a reasonable markup as they do locking you into a ridiculously over-priced plan to go with that over-priced device.  Amazon is a great place to buy devices because you can return it if you don't like it or if there is anything wrong with it.  You can save money buying a device through Kijiji and other sites but you really have to be careful.  For every good experience, there are just as many poor experiences.  

I would say that most of my friends represent why this happens though.  They live paycheque to paycheque, have kids, and so on, so the only way they can afford the latest device is to lock themselves into whatever terms that makes what they want somewhat affordable to them.  It is a sad reality but these companies pray on the poorest demographic to make the most money, which is also how most companies make money.  

Why did you consider buying a phone from Telus in the first place if you have the money to buy one outright?  You will save a lot just from not being locked into a contract and not paying the markup on a device.  On Samsung devices that come with the W (Canadian) firmware, the device will adapt to which ever Canadian carrier SIM you put in it.  If the device is a U (US carrier specific) or U1 (US non-carrier specific) firmware, you can easily convert them without unlocking the bootloader or modding the device.  

[GurbzTheGreat]

I don't have the money to buy it outright, I was considering signing the 2 year plan and was shocked when I saw what a rip off Telus is on contracts.

[Lola]

Amazon largely sells refurbished device. New devices on Amazon are not so much cheaper than Telus. The Samsung S9+ is 1100.00 on Amazon, 100.00 less than Telus retail. Best Buy also has it for 1100.00. It's not a big savings, but if someone has a decent plan that won't rise for a while and wants to buy a phone outright to keep that plan, then sure, try to save a little. If someone is doing a new subsidy or rolling a contract, then that 100.00 won't matter, and complaining about plan prices in Canada is useless. Canadians are proving daily they're willing to go into debt to pay for the newest devices when they want but don't need, and as long as they're doing that, they're a big part of the problem.

[Lola]

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@Lola wrote:

Amazon largely sells refurbished device(s). New devices on Amazon are not so much cheaper than Telus. The Samsung S9+ is 1100.00 on Amazon, 100.00 less than Telus retail. Best Buy also has it for 1100.00. It's not a big savings, but if someone has a decent plan that won't rise for a while and wants to buy a phone outright to keep that plan, then sure, try to save a little. If someone is doing a new subsidy or rolling a contract, then that 100.00 won't matter, and complaining about plan prices in Canada is useless. Canadians are proving daily they're willing to go into debt to pay for the newest devices when they want but don't need, and as long as they're doing that, they're a big part of the problem.

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Fixed it for me. 

Note to self: proof before clicking post, not after. 

Can I have my edit button back now? Pretty please.

[Syaoran]

Have you checked BestBuy or Amazon?  I know their dot.com sites offer a bit more flexibility in terms of what is offered on payment plans, but B&H Photo is another place to possibly look.  Before the holidays, Amazon.com had brand new LG V35's unlocked for $550 (which I didn't think was worth it) but they also offered a 5 month payment plan.  Always read the descriptions to know if what you are buying is new, used, or refurbished, and to make sure it supports the bands that Telus or the carriers you want to use it are available with that device.   

[NFtoBC]

@Syaoran

  Aren’t the dot com sites priced in US$? If so add a 40% premium to the listed prices, plus in many cases additional shipping charges.

[Nighthawk]

Don't forget tax and duty. Last time I bought a phone from the US, I had to pay both.

[NFtoBC]

Telus also lists the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), while Amazon, which prides itself on being the lowest price is selling for Wholesale plus a tiny markup. As @Syaoran states, you also need to be aware of the device you are purchasing; the Telus one is guaranteed to work on their network.

[xray]

The S8 on Amazon.ca at $610-$650 is the Asian version (G950FD) which has different LTE band support. The Canadian version (G950W) is $720 on Amazon. You should know what you are buying.

Still quite the price difference but then TELUS doesn't want you to buy a phone outright, they want you to sign a contract. They would be happy to have no phone sales without a plan because it's such a small drop in their revenue bucket.

As Syaoran said, why would anyone even consider buying a phone outright from any carrier?

[Syaoran]

There are third party ROM's that can turn the FD into a fully complete dual-SIM T-Mobile U device.  Whether there is a ROM available to do the same with the W firmware, I have no idea.  All of the U, U1, and W firmware devices are all the exact same hardware and are flashable without unlocking the bootloader, no root needed, and without tripping Knox through ODIN.